This Device Will Let You Know When There's Snow!
This project uses an ESP8266, a distance sensor, and IFTTT to automate a wake-up call to your phone if it snowed overnight.
As Wisconsinite ‘rclaus’ puts it, “Wouldn't it be nice to be woken up a little earlier on those days [when it snows] to take the stress out of the morning?” Living in Florida, I’d have to assume so, and this project uses an ESP8266 NodeMCU board along with a distance sensor and IFTTT to call you on the phone if there’s been a “snow event” overnight.
The device is set up on a tripod above a relatively flat surface, with a LIDAR range sensor pointed down at an angle for monitoring. A plastic container protects the electronics from condensation, i.e. when the snow melts.
If flakes fall overnight, the distance between said surface and the range sensor will change, triggering a notification. This is accomplished via WiFi and IFTTT’s WebHooks capabilities, and when there is new snow, the system calls you on the phone to give you more time to deal with it.
Code for the system is available here. You’ll of course need an IFTTT account to get it working, plus several libraries. While this would be useful for those in colder climates, the principle could be applied to nearly any type of sensor, perhaps even to tell you if it's too hot out or if it's been raining!